Rumor Roundup: Another unannounced Apple product 'delayed'

Apple first applied for the iWatch trademark last year. Then, as now, this trademark application is not proof that Apple intends to launch a device with that name. It could just as easily be a defensive measure preventing some shameless copycat from launching a product with that name.

The inevitable has happened... some Asian publication has come out with a claim that an unannounced Apple product is "delayed" because of some technological hiccup. The only thing about this report that's out of the ordinary is the fact that Digitimes isn't the source; they're usually the ones projecting doom and gloom for Apple product timelines.

Unannounced products which are unconfirmed to even exist cannot, by definition, be "delayed." Get real.

This is according to "sources familiar with Apple's plans." Of course, ever since news came out that Nike axed its entire Fuelband division, speculation has run wild that the "iWatch" was the real reason, so these "sources familiar with Apple's plans" could very easily be some total randos spitballing their pet theory.

Some analyst claims the iWatch "will essentially replace the iPod." This is apparently newsworthy for the singular reason that some analyst said it. We've never heard of this analyst before, or the financial group he represents, and his "report" is pretty much a total guess.

But it's still worth spreading around, because he's an analyst, you guys. Analysts don't get paid to just spread any old BS around. They totally know what they're talking about. They're never wrong.

Another pair of analysts claim to have inside knowledge of next-gen Apple hardware. It's seriously not even worth expending calories tapping more keys than necessary to refute this nonsense, so I'll just leave it at this: analysts have no (expletive deleted) clue what they're talking about. Ever.

Unlike the typical nonsense rumors, these "we found code snippets in iOS code" rumors pan out more often than not. That's not to say they always pan out, but the track record for these is definitely way higher than typical rumors.